Chugiak swim star heading to Hawaii

Chugiak High senior Izzy Powers signs her National Letter of Intent to swim at the University of Hawaii as her mom, Kelly, looks on at a ceremony at the Chugiak library on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018. (Star photo by Matt Tunseth)

Most people have to fly from Alaska to Hawaii; Izzy Powers is going to swim.

On Tuesday, the Chugiak High senior signed a National Letter of Intent to swim at Division I University of Hawaii during a ceremony in the CHS library.

“It’s been my dream since I was little to swim for a Division I college,” Powers said following the ceremony, which was attended by dozens of family, friends, coaches and teachers.

Powers thanked the large crowd for supporting her through the ebbs and flows of her high school swimming career.

“I definitely wouldn’t be here without all of you in this room,” she said.

A recent visit to the Hawaii sealed the deal for Powers, who said she was swayed by her future teammates’ attitudes in and out of the pool.

“They were so welcoming,” she said.

Powers has been one of the state’s most dominant swimmers since arriving at CHS in 2015. She’s a four-time individual and one-time relay state champion who has appeared in 12 state finals races in four years.

After suffering an ankle injury her junior year, Powers had a triumphant return to the pool this season, sweeping the 50 and 100 freestyle for the second time in her career.

Now she’ll be swimming at one of the country’s top swim programs which according to Collegeswimming.com is currently the nation’s 25th ranked Division I women’s dual team.

Powers’s club coach Scott O’Brien said the Rainbow Wahine are getting a special athlete who was a mentor to younger swimmers.

“Hawaii’s going to be getting a great kid, a great leader and a great teammate,” he said.

At Hawaii Powers said she plans to study biology and she’d like to follow her mother — Dr. Kelly Powers — into the medical field. She said she’s excited for the increased demands a collegiate swimming career will bring and is looking forward to the challenge.